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At least 811 records · Page 45Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Layered double hydroxide minerals as possible prebiotic information storage and transfer compounds.

One of the fundamental difficulties when considering the origin of life on Earth is the identification of an emergent system that not only replicated, but also had the capacity to undergo discrete mutation in such a way that following generations might inherit and pass on the mutation. We speculate that the layered double hydroxide (LDH) minerals are plausible candidates for a proto-RNA molecule. We describe a hypothetical LDH-like system which, when intercalated with certain anions, forms crystals with a high degree of internal order giving rise to novel information storage structures in which replication fidelity is maintained, a concept we use to propose an explanation for interstratification in terephthalate LDHs. The external surfaces of these hypothetical crystals provide active sites whose structure and chemistry is dictated by the internal information content of the LDH. Depending on the LDH polytype, the opposing external surfaces of a crystal may give rise to reactive sites that are either complementary or mirror images of each other, and so may be chiral. We also examine similarities between these proposed "proto-RNA" structures and the DNA that encodes the hereditary information in life today, concluding with a hypothetical scenario wherein these proto-RNA molecules predated the putative RNA-world.

Hydroxides↗
PubMed2006

Ab initio simulations of desorption and reactivity of glycine at a water-pyrite interface at "iron-sulfur world" prebiotic conditions.

Glycine at the interface of a pyrite surface (001) FeS2, and bulk water at high pressure and temperature conditions relevant to the "iron-sulfur world" scenario of the origin of life is investigated by theoretical means. Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics is used in order to study the desorption process of the zwitterionic form of this amino acid using two different adsorption modes, where either only one or both oxygens of the carboxylate group are anchored to surface iron atoms. It is found that the formation of stabilizing hydrogen bonds plays a key role in the detachment process, leading to longer retention times for the bidentate adsorption mode. In addition, the chemical reactivity of this heterogeneous system is probed by calculating the Fukui functions as site-specific reactivity indices. The most prominent targets for both nucleophilic and electrophilic reactions to occur are surface atoms, whereas the reactivity of glycine is only slightly affected upon anchoring.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2006

Condensation of amino acids to form peptides in aqueous solution induced by the oxidation of sulfur(iv): an oxidative model for prebiotic peptide formation.

Condensation of amino acids to peptides is an important step during the origin of life. However, up to now, successful explanations for plausible prebiotic peptide formation pathways have been limited. Here we report that the oxidation of sulfur (IV) can induce the condensation reaction of carboxylic acids and amines to form amides, and the condensation reaction of amino acids to form peptides. This might be a general reaction contributing to prebiotic peptide formation.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed2006

Early inner solar system impactors: physical properties of comet nuclei and dust particles revisited.

During the epoch of early bombardment, terrestrial planets have been heavily impacted by cometary nuclei and cometary dust particles progressively injected in the interplanetary medium. Stardust and Deep Impact missions confirm that the nuclei are porous, loosely consolidated objects, with densities below 1,000 kg m(-3), and that they often release small fragments of ices and dust. Recent numerical simulations of the light scattering properties of cometary dust particles indicate that they are highly porous, most likely fractal, and rich in absorbing organics compounds (with a mixture ratio of e.g. 33 to 60% in mass for comet Hale-Bopp). Taking into account the fact that porous structures survive more easily than compact ones during atmospheric entry, such results reinforce the scenario of the early terrestrial planets enrichment--in organics needed for life to originate--by comets.

Cosmic Dust↗
PubMed1993

Liposomes: the Babraham connection.

A chronological history is given of the experimental work carried out at The Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, Near Cambridge (UK) prior to and after the first description of liposomes in 1965. A convergence of worldwide interest in membrane structure and function coupled with the coexistence of physiologists, biochemists and electron microscopists provided a unique opportunity for the development of a useful model system. As well as defining their properties, such as composition, dimensions, perm-selectivity, permeating pathways and response to solutes (oil and/or water soluble), temperature and pressure, attention is drawn to a number of ideas investigated over the years relating to in vivo 'invisibility' of foreign particles, the trapping of ions in small vesicles the origins of life, to the mechanisms of anaesthesia and formulation of an effective lung surfactant.

Anesthetics↗
PubMed1993

Aqueous high-temperature and high-pressure organic geochemistry of hydrothermal vent systems.

Hydrothermal systems associated with oceanic spreading centers are now recognized as relatively common phenomena, and the organic chemical alterations occurring there are rapid and efficient. In the marine hydrothermal systems at water depths > 1.5 km, the conditions driving chemical reactions are high temperatures (up to >400 degrees C), confining pressures (>150 bar), and other parameters such as pH, Eh, and mineralogy in an aqueous open flow medium. Continental hydrothermal systems may also be of interest, as, for example, in failed or dormant rifts and regions around piercement volcanoes. Organic matter alteration by reductive reactions to petroleum hydrocarbons occurs in hydrothermal systems over a wide temperature window (approximately 60 to >400 degrees C), under elevated pressure, and in a brief geological time (years to hundreds of years). The products are rapidly moved as bulk phase or in fluids from the regions at higher temperatures to areas at lower temperatures, where the high molecular weight material separates from the bulk. These conditions are conducive to organic chemistry which yields concurrent products by primarily reduction (due to mineral buffering), oxidation (high thermal stress), and synthesis reactions. This chemistry is just beginning to be elucidated by the geochemical community, but there are various industrial applications which provide useful preliminary insight. Therefore, the behavior of organic matter (inclusive of methane to high molecular weight compounds > C40) in warm to supercritical water needs to be characterized to understand the implications of this novel phenomenon in geological and geochemical processes, and the chemistry occurring over the full temperature spectrum of hydrothermal systems is of relevance to origins of life research.

Carbon Radioisotopes↗
PubMed1991

Duration of liquid water habitats on early Mars.

We have employed a simple climate model of early Mars in order to estimate the duration of ice-covered lakes after the onset of freezing conditions on Mars. The critical parameter determining the existence of ice-covered lakes is the existence of peak seasonal temperatures above freezing. The peak temperature occurs at the subsolar point at perihelion. We use the weathering model of Pollack et al. (Icarus 71, 203-224, 1987) to compute the pressure and temperature evolution of the atmosphere. We have included the variability of the solar luminosity. We find that if there was a source of ice to provide meltwater, liquid water habitats could have been maintained under relatively thin ice covers for up to 700 million years after mean global temperatures fell below the freezing point. At this point, the mean annual temperature is 227 K, and the pressure of atmospheric CO2 is about 0.5 bar. Without the presence of stable bodies of liquid water, it is not clear what mechanisms were responsible for the removal of this remaining CO2. From a biological point of view, we find that the duration of liquid water habitats on early Mars exceeds the upper limit on the time required for the origin of life on Mars.

Atmosphere↗
PubMed1989

Monoclonal antibody characterization of progesterone receptors, estrogen receptors and the stress-responsive protein of 27 kDa (SRP27) in human uterine leiomyoma.

Uterine leiomyoma occurs in one of every four or five women during their reproductive life. Its origin is unknown but it is accepted that estrogens play a significant role in its development. In order to learn more about the estrogen dependency of leiomyoma, the biochemical and immunological properties of two markers of estrogen response in target cells (the progesterone receptor (PR) and the stress-responsive protein of 27 kDa (SRP27)) were studied in leiomyoma. The ER (estrogen receptor) and PR content were determined by conventional DCC exchange assays. Specific anti-ER, anti-PR and anti-SRP27 monoclonal antibodies were used in immunoblots and immunohistochemical (IHC) studies. The binding properties of PR from cytosol of leiomyoma showed a Kd of 0.8-1.3 nM, which is in the range described for other human tissues. 80% of all studied leiomyoma contained PR, in a range of 805-2000 fmol/mg protein. The Kd for leiomyoma ER was 0.1-0.9 nM, and 84% of the samples were positive for ER. The PR of leiomyoma has the two A and B forms of 120 and 94 kDa, as shown in the immunoblot using the AB52 anti-PR monoclonal antibody. The IHC study revealed that the PR is concentrated in the cell nuclei, in the form of perinuclear bodies, with a homogeneous staining pattern from cell to cell. The leiomyoma fibres contain SRP27 in a higher concentration than the healthy myometrium. The leiomyoma SRP27 shows a typical doublet of 24 kDa and 27 kDa in immunoblot, the same as in MCF-7 cells. The IHC study revealed a high degree of organization of SRP27 in leiomyoma cells, suggesting that this protein may be part of the cytoskeleton. The results obtained show that human leiomyomas contain ER, PR and RSP27 with similar immunological and biochemical properties to those of other human tissues, including the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Protein replication by amino acid pairing.

Biological problems concerning the origin of life and the mode of prion replication (Prusiner, 1982) may require protein replication (the synthesis of one protein sequence from another) as part of their solution. It is suggested that complementarity between protein sequences may be determined by amino acid pairing (Root-Bernstein, 1982a). Two mechanisms using the complementarity afforded by amino acid pairing are proposed. Experimental tests of the mechanisms are suggested.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1986

Community living long before man: fossil and living microbial mats and early life.

Microbial mats are layered communities of bacteria that form cohesive structures, some of which are preserved in sedimentary rocks as stromatolites. Certain rocks, approximately three and a half thousand million years old and representing the oldest known fossils, are interpreted to derive from microbial mats and to contain fossils of microorganisms. Modern microbial mats (such as the one described here from Matanzas, Cuba) and their fossil counterparts are of great interest in the interpretation of early life on Earth. Since examination of microbial mats and stromatolites increases our understanding of long-term stability and change, within the global environment, such structures should be protected wherever possible as natural science preserves. Furthermore, since they have existed virtually from the time of life's origin, microbial mats have developed exemplary mechanisms of local community persistence and may even play roles in the larger global environment that we do not understand.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1994

An extended cellular space method for simulating autocatalytic oligonucleotides.

Self-replicating nucleotides and other self-replicating molecules are an active area of study today by organic chemists. Such studies are important for improving our understanding of the origins of life. Computational studies of self-replicating molecules could increase our insight into their properties, but existing computational techniques have been limited in their usefulness for such reactions (numerical simulation of differential equations requires reaction rate constants that are difficult to obtain, cellular automata models are too restrictive for modeling molecular movements and bindings, etc.). We have thus developed an efficient modified cellular automata method that supports the study of self-replicating oligonucleotides. We explain this method and illustrate its use with a specific self-replicating (autocatalytic) deoxyribohexanucleotide.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1991

Neural differentiation-associated generation of microglia-like phagocytes in murine embryonal carcinoma cell line.

We have characterized microglia-like cells which appeared at late stages of neural differentiation of the P19 line of embryonal carcinoma cells. The microglia-like cells arose as round cells on top of a bed layer in mixed cultures of retinoic acid-treated P19 cells. The period of initial appearance of these cells coincided with that of the disappearance of neurons, and the generation of these cells persisted thereafter. The P19-derived microglia-like cells morphologically resembled ameboid microglia, and some of these cells took the form of resting microglia. These cells, both in enriched cultures and in mixed cell cultures, showed phagocytic activity towards latex beads. Most of the P19-derived microglia-like cells in enriched cultures reacted with an antibody against Mac-1, a macrophage surface marker, whereas only the round cells on top of the bed layer showed positive Mac-1 immunoreactivity in a mixed P19 culture. Moreover, the microglia-like cells contained non-specific esterase, an enzyme marker for macrophages. These cells showed apparent morphological changes in response to macrophage colony stimulating factor secreted by cultured L929 cells. The above characteristics of the microglia-like cells derived from P19 cells are similar to those of brain microglia in primary culture. The generation of microglia-like cells from P19 cells during neural differentiation may provide insights into the origin and life cycle of brain microglia.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Catalytic RNA and the origin of genetic systems.

The recent discovery of catalytic RNA molecules has provoked enormous interest in the origin of life and has given rise to new speculations about how living systems developed on the primitive earth. Here we outline why the discovery of catalytic RNA molecules has profound evolutionary implications, and then go on to discuss models for the emergence of metabolic complexity and protein synthesis in a primitive 'RNA world', emphasizing the constraints imposed on such models by genetical arguments.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed1983

The atmosphere of the primitive earth and the prebiotic synthesis of organic compounds.

The prebiotic synthesis of organic compounds using a spark discharge on various simulated prebiotic atmospheres at 25 degrees has been studied. Methane mixtures contained H2 + CH4 + H2O + N2 + NH3 with H2/CH4 molar ratios from 0 to 4 and pNH3 = 0.1 torr. A similar set of experiments without added NH3 was performed. The yields of amino acids (1.2 to 4.7% based on the carbon) are approximately independent of the H2/CH4 ratio and the presence of added NH3, and a wide variety of amino acids are obtained. Mixtures of H2 + CO + H2O + N2 and H2 + CO2 + H2O + N2, with and without added NH3, all give about 2% yields of amino acids at H2/CO and H2/CO2 ratios of 2 to 4. For the H2/CO and H2/CO2 ratios less than 1, the yields fall off drastically to as low as 10(-3)%. Glycine is almost the only amino acid produced from CO and CO2 atmospheres. These results show that the maximum yield is about the same for the three carbon sources at high H2/carbon ratios, but that CH4 is superior at low H2/carbon ratios. In addition, CH4 gives a much greater variety of amino acids than either CO or CO2. If it is assumed that amino acids more complex than glycine were required for the origin of life, then these results indicate the need for CH4 in the primitive atmosphere. The yields of cyanide and formaldehyde parallel the amino acid results, with yields of HCN and H2CO as high as 13% based on the carbon. Ammonia is also produced from N2 in experiments with no added NH3 in yields as high as 4.9%. These results show that large amounts of NH3 would have been synthesized on the primitive earth by electric discharges. The amount of ammonia formed by hydrolysis of HCN and various nitriles may have exceeded that formed directly in electric discharges.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1995

Formation of amino acid precursors in cometary ice environments by cosmic radiation.

Cometary ices are believed to contain water, carbon monoxide, methane and ammonia, and are possible sites for the formation and preservation of organic compounds relating to the origin of life. Cosmic rays, together with ultraviolet light, are among the most effective energy sources for the formation of organic compounds in space. In order to study the possibility of the formation of amino acids in comets or their precursory bodies (interstellar dust grains), several types of ice mixtures made in a cryostat at 10 K ("simulated cometary ices") were irradiated with high energy protons. After irradiation, the volatile products were analyzed with a quadrupole mass spectrometer, while temperature of the cryostat was raised to room temperature. The non-volatile products remaining in the cryostat at room temperature were collected with water. They were acid-hydrolyzed, and analyzed by ion-exchange chromatography. When an ice mixture of carbon monoxide (or methane), ammonia and water was irradiated, some hydrocarbons were formed, and amino acids such as glycine and alanine were detected in the hydrolyzate. These results suggest the possible formation of "amino acid precursors" (compounds yielding amino acids after hydrolysis) in interstellar dust grains by cosmic radiation. We previously reported that amino acid precursors were formed when simulated primitive planetary atmospheres were irradiated with cosmic ray particles. It will be of great interest to compare the amount of bioorganic compounds that were formed in the primitive earth and that brought by comets to the earth.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1988

The importance of protistan phylogeny for macroevolution.

Explicit estimates of protist phylogeny should play a key role in the development of macroevolutionary theory. Nearly half the evolutionary history of living systems involved only protists, and many trends and traits of macroevolutionary significance originated in protist groups. Special areas of research that can make use of protist phylogenies include: (1) origin of life studies, (2) biotic aspects of the evolution of the environment, (3) developmental biology and evolution, and (4) macroevolutionary trends in the diversification of life.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Cytologic evaluation of hormonal dynamic in the postmenopause.

There is increasing evidence that the postmenopausal ovary retains some endocrine function and thus can contribute a certain extent to the persistence of the vaginal epithelium proliferation a long time after the cessation of menstruations. Vaginal cytology plays an important role in the assessment of the vaginal epithelium response to hormonal stimuli, though less accurate than the blood and the urine estimations. It was established that there was a good correlation between the vaginal cytology and the biochemical estimations [2]. The fact that vaginal cytology cannot distinguish the proliferative patterns induced by estrogens, progesterone and androgens is true. With this in mind we did a cytological study in postmenopausal women, using our classification for the cytological typing based on the depth of the epithelial atrophy. The findings are discussed with special reference to the ethnic origin, reproductive life and concurrent illnesses.

Aged↗